Breathing In
by memine
Summary: 1x2, AU-ish. After the peace settle on Earth and Colonies, everyone moves on with their lives all except Heero. What is the Perfect Soldier to do in a world that doesn't need one anymore?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Gundam Wing or its characters and concepts.

**Warnings:** AU-ish, languages, malexmale, 1x2, 3x4, 13x5x6, OOC although I'll try to keep them in character as best I can when I meant to.

Thank you **Pyrite **for cleaned my writing up for me.

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Chapter 1

"No Relena. Get back. I've got to check the premises first." Heero said grimly.

Relena sighed and rolled her eyes. "Heero, get a clue. The. War. Is. Over." She bodily pushed pass him to make a run for the pink limousine waiting for her at the door. Heero with his reflexes still intact, snatched her wrist and yanked her back forcefully. He didn't say anything except glaring at her to express his displeasure.

This prove to be the last straw for Relena, she returned his glare for one of her cool condescending ones.

She simply had enough of him.. After the war was over, she proposed that he work for her as her bodyguard and this proved to be most difficult time for her. It even affected her beliefs and philosophies in life. That is something unacceptable because those are the things that made her who she was. Heck! The whole known universe know of her as an unshakable pacifist and counted on her to over-see the relationship between Earth and the Colonies. There are times when she was so frustrated that she just wanted to take off her pink heels and heave it at Heero's head. She fully understood her position and the risks that her life is under, however, having him sleeping next to her on the floor and jumped at every noise in the night then dragged her to the nearest shelter was purely ludicrous. She even has to put up with him standing outside her opened bathroom door while she did her PRIVATE things!!! Not only did he endanger her beliefs, he also affected her jobs as the stress of putting up with him built up minute by minute.

"Heero, it seems to me that you are due for some vacation time. It was bad judgment on my part to asked you to accompany me as my bodyguard right after the war. I apologize that you didn't get any time to celebrate our new found peace. I will now release you from your responsibilities as my bodyguard. The duration of time is undetermined, so that you can see the beauty of the world you and the other Gundam Pilots had fought so hard to preserve." With that said she promptly, without waiting for Heero's reaction, pulled out her cellphone and directed Une to send her a substitute for Heero.

"Heero, I thank you for your hard work. It's time that you cut back and enjoy life a little. Now let go of my hand." Still speechless, he let go of her wrist and watched her retreating back as she walked and disappeared in her peculiar vehicle.

"Quatre! I'm so glad to see you." Duo greeted Quatre through the grainy screen of vid-phone with enough enthusiasm that only he can manage.

"Hello Duo." Quatre grinned in answer at the familiar image of wide grin, chestnut hair, and twinkling violet eyes.

"Are you busy with your card-boards in suits?" Duo asked and earned an indignant laugh from Quatre.

"Duo! No, I'm not busy with my business associates right now."

"Great! How've you been? Is everything going well with the Winner Corps?"

"Yes, everything is fine. I even have free time on my hand, can you believe it? I thought that when I take over the family's business I would be swamp with works, instead, I have a bunch of able bodies that do all the work."

With that Duo cackled dramatically, "Work my minions! Work!"

"I know!" Quatre laughed. "Yes, I am the evil over-lord. Trowa is visiting me too. I've been spending my free time with him."

"Oh?" Duo grinned widely, "Then may be I should board a shuttle to L4 and mooch off of you too."

"That would be great! I would love for you to be here. Oh, this is so rude of me, how's business with Hilde and the yard?"

Duo rolled his eyes, "Unlike you, me and Hilde worked our butts off at the scrap yard! Even though we put blood and sweat into it, and work ourselves to death, I love it Quatre! You wouldn't believe the stuffs that scrapped, and what you can put together!"

"I'm happy for you then. You are exactly where you should be."

"Thanks, getting back to your question, yes I can come in...about..." Duo's image looked down and some beeping sounds can be heard, and Quatre assumed that he's checking his calendar. "Three weeks!" Duo looked up and grinned from ear to ear. "Because Hilde has been..."

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It's was the kind of day when you just want to stay out in the sun all day and soak it up. The sky was so blue and was smattered with threads of wistful white clouds. Cool breeze gently stirs the air but not enough to turn the temperature into chilling. The sun shines high up in the sky and painted everything with a layer of vibrancy. The whole world bathed in a lazy sleepy haze.  
The state of the day seemed to have the same effect on Duo as he was feeling the same way. Dressed in simple white tank-top and cut-off short, he was motionless on the hemlock with his hair out of its usual braid and a small contented smile. His eye-lids were shut, warded off the glare of the sun, he can feel his body relaxed and unwind. He was telling the truth when he told Quatre that work was hellish. This is a vacation that was badly over-due. But thanks to them and their precious life-forces, between Hilde and Duo, they have managed to make theirs a striving business. With the business expanded, they decided to hired more people. For about a year or so, Hilde has interviewed people and trained them to help. Afterward, since she trained them, she dumped the managing over to him and took off for the beach. After she got back and caught on with everything going on, then it was his turn to hit a vacation spot. After deciding that why go anywhere else when Quatre's "house" has everything you could possibly want, he took off for L4.

When another lulling breeze reached him, he reveled in the ability to succumb to it...

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Feeling slippery moist tongue lazily stroking the inside of his mouth made him gave a low, drawn out moan. His breath quickened and he lifted his heavy lids to look, although, he already knew from experience who is the kisser. Blue. They were so blue, blue the color of the sky he fallen asleep under, and were just as spellbinding. Body with lean planes pressed close to his, moving in a rhythm that meant to arouse. The tongue in his mouth withdrawn and he was nibbled on from jaw to throat where the mouth remained. While his throat was sucked, nibbled, and licked, he fisted his hands on the messy brown locks of hair that were so dark that they appeared to be black. With another throaty moan, his body writhed urgently and breathless groans and moans filled the air.

********************

Again like past experience, he was jerked awake. Duo growled groggily down that the bulge in his shorts. "Fuck."

His erection throbbed incessantly. "Yeah, buddy, I'm not a very happy camper either. Damn it!" Duo said unhappily then thought about the time when his Gundam was sent to the sun and that effectively ridded him of his arousal. Realized that the sun is setting, he hopped off the hemlock and figured it's time to feed his stomach.

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"Stop buttering up to my cooks Duo." Quatre appeared in the kitchen as Duo munches on his sandwich and chatting to one of the cooks. The cook smiled warmly at Duo before excusing herself to Quatre to attend to the daily grocery.

"Hey, you eat better that way." Duo grinned and polished off his sandwich. Quatre marveled at Duo's ability to charms anything with a pulse and his stomach.

Pulled out a chair for himself next to Duo, Quatre commented with a pleased smile, "You look better Duo. With a few more days and those eyes bags will be gone and you'll get your coloring back."

"I know, and then you can stop looking at me with that worry line between your eyebrows, little mother." Duo said cheekily and made Quatre laughed in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry. It just that when we talked in the phone I didn't get a good look at you, and when you showed up looking like you have been a week in the grave, it caused my maternal instincts from my sisters to acted up."

"Well at least you didn't suggest that I quit this job."

"Quatre would never do that." Duo and Quatre jumped in surprise.

"Damn it Trowa!" Duo glowered while Quatre rolled his eyes in exaggeration.  
After the war, Trowa grew couple of inches along with the rest of the pilots and because he was taller than them before he still is now. He was less taciturn than before, however, still moves like a phantom and took great amusement in startling Duo and Quatre. Although that almost got him kill a few times from war's residue reflexes if he didn't have those mentioned reflexes himself. Having close brushes with death didn't deter him from doing it either.

"You're going to have to drop this because it'll get you kill one day! How can you think this is funny? I hope the others didn't develop some strange taste like yours!" Duo seethed.

Quatre grasped, "I know!"

"What Kitty-Kat?" Duo asked when Trowa just look questioningly at Quatre.

"You know, Trowa is not the only one that had developed a strange taste." Quatre grimaced at Duo, "If butchering my name can be count as one."

"Nope, it doesn't." Duo grinned.

With a brief glare at Duo, Quatre continued, "Anyway, when Duo mentioned the other two, it gave me the idea that we should have a get-together."

"You're right, provided they're not busy of course." Trowa nodded. "With Wufei and Heero both working for the Preventer, they always have something that comes up. Especially Heero, since he was requested by Relena to be her bodyguard."

"That's right! I agree with Trowa. They can't just up and leave like that." Duo said, shifted in his seat uncomfortably, feeling a bit panicky. He ignored the twinge he felt in his foolish heart as Heero was mentioned with Relena.

"They can always take a vacation. It's not like the entire Preventer consisted with only two of them." Quatre pointed out.

Trowa shrugged, "I'm not saying they can't go. I'm not them, so I can't speak for them. I just wanted to bring that possibility up."

"Why don't we just call them and ask instead of speculating about whether they can go or not?" Quatre smiled bemusedly.

"Why don't we?" Trowa answered with a smile...

...and Duo sorely tempted to bang his head on the table.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Gundam Wing or its characters and concepts.

**Warnings:** AU-ish, languages, malexmale, 1x2, 3x4, 13x5x6, OOC although I'll try to keep them in character as best I can when I meant to.

Thank you **Pyrite **for cleaned my writing up for me.

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Chapter 2

Like every morning for the last two years, he woke up with a feeling of deep contentment. He wakes up with a smile on his face. For no particularly apparent reason whatsoever aside from the fact that he just does. He doesn't even realize it until one day he happened to looked in the mirror.

_Hmm...__It's funny how fast one becomes accustomed to things like this_. He thought bemusedly to himself. _Just a few years back I would shoot first and ask later at the first sign of my solitude being invaded..._ Now, he would think that something is wrong if he wake up and doesn't hearing the singing in the shower or the warm weight on his back. Hell, or even sleeping with clothes on! He chuckled to himself. Although he and his partners aren't sexually active every night, they always sleep naked together.

"Intimacy." One of them has explained.

"This is the first step of moving on with life after the war." The other had said.

And because of who the other is, he replied with a remark full sarcasm, "Right, and I'm sure that this isn't just one of your schemes to get us naked so you don't have to waste time ripping the clothes off of us."

"Of course not." The other grinned. A grin that said he had hit the nail dead on its head.

He doesn't know how it is that he can love, not only one but two person, and so deeply in such short period of time. He has changed a great deal in that mentioned short time also. He had never been happier. He felt that he got everything he could possibly ever want, or heck even ever dared to consider. And because of that innate sense of complacency he allow himself to let go a little, became more tolerant. Like his hair for example. He would never let his hair grew out this long because it would interfere with practicality. Now when he stands up, it reaches all the way to his butt. With his thought on his hair, he fingered a mess of glossy raven-black hair and platinum blond. Staring at the mix, his smile grew.

Before his thoughts can flit to another train the vid-phone peeps. Planned to reach for it on the night table and turn it off so that his remaining sleeping lover can continue to reside in his dreamland; however, the plan was cut short as his sight accidentally landed on the caller id. His eyes immediately widen in shock as "Sandrock Corp." glowed on the display. No address or numbers, just "Sandrock Corp." He snapped out of his daze and quickly moved from the bedroom to the living room to take the call.

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When the call was connected, both side stared at each other in shock. Wufei because not just the image of Quatre was on the screen, Trowa and Duo was also on, the other three because it's Wufei with long hair! They all talked to him before on vid-phone but he always had his hair up so they always assumed that his hair remained the same.

Managed to get over his instantaneous state of mute first, Duo asked tentatively, "Wufei?"

At this Wufei merely lifted a slim brow, "You called my number did you not?"

At the answer that full with attitude, Duo eyes widen and a grin bloomed on his face, "Hot-damn." He thought about it and laughed, "And am I right or what? Looking hot Wufei! Woo, Woo!" Wufei just narrowed his eyes in respond while that prove to be the ice-breaker for the other two.

"That's enough Duo, we don't want him to disconnect us now." Quatre laughed.

"But he's right, you look great Wufei." Trowa smiled.

"Alright I'm disconnecting." Wufei moved to do so and was stop by Quatre. "No, no. Wait!"

He looked up skyward as if saying "why me?" then said, "What?"

Feeling comfortable now Quatre smiled, "With Duo and Trowa visiting me..." But he was interrupted with a familiar voice, one that can only belong to one man that they know that has forked eyebrows, "Have you seen my underwear?" And all of their jaws dropped.

Then another familiar voice full with laughter reached them, a voice that can only belong to a man with long platinum hair and icy blue eyes. "Don't even bother looking for it. I'm pretty sure that last night Wufei ripped them. You know how he is when he's drunk, wild impatient thing. Mine is a goner too." By this time Wufei's face and a tomato could've been mistaken for relatives.

"Ehem, anyway I was saying," Quatre, ever the diplomat, "Duo and Trowa are visiting me so I thought that it would be great if all of us can see each other again. A little get together. Are you in?"

"Sure." Wufei, whose face is still a distant relative of tomato, said with cracking voice. He wished that somehow a black hole appear and suck him in while cursing at bedroom with thin walls and built so damn close to the living room.

"I haven't figure out the time, date, and location yet though."

"It's okay, just call me back and let me know. I'm sure whatever you plan will be fine." Wufei said wanting so bad to disconnect.

"'kay, I'll call you back later when I got it all figured out. You are also welcome to bring along any guests with you." Quatre smiled with understanding and disconnected, wanting to save Wufei from further embarrassment, although before he disconnected, Wufei heard Duo mumbled, "Wild?!"

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"That was interesting." Trowa decided after the screen went black when Quatre ended the connection.

"Interesting? Shit Trowa, that's definitely the understatement of the century." Duo said still shell-shocked. "Wow, Wufei hooking up with guys. With two guys. With Treize and Zechs. Wow."

Quatre eyed him owlishly and smiled, "Well, he seemed more relax and at peace with himself."

"I'll be relax and 'at peace' too if I just got my brain scre..."

"Duo!" Quatre interrupted sharply, being so pale he resembled cooked shrimp rather than Wufei's tomato red, "I don't need to hear that! I don't even want to know. Beside what is the big deal, he's with Treize and Zechs. Done, end of story."

"Still, Wufei doing the tango horizontally with two guys!"

"Yes, we know." Quatre just appeared to be blushing harder and harder, he's positively glowing now. "Would you drop it? Do you have a problem with him being with men or something?" He scowled. It was hard for him not to look at Trowa furtively like a criminal to gauge his reaction.

Duo just rolled his eyes at that, "Please, I'm very comfortable with my sexuality. I'm a very "happy" gay man. Why would I have a problem with men being with men?"

Trowa just lifted his eyes brows and smiled, "Good for you. I always knew that. And don't worry; it's not because of the hair."

"It better not be, me being attracted to men have nothing to do with my hair, not a damn thing."

"It's fabulous by the way." He said stretching out the word 'fabulous' and ended with a grin.

Duo grinned in answer. "What about you, babbling man? Guys or gals?"

"I have an aversion to being touch sexually." His grin turned into a bitter smile and Quatre felt his stomach sunk like lead. Well at least Trowa didn't say that he not attracted to men.

"I know what you mean." Duo's own happy expression was gone as if it has never been there. "But you just have to move on you know." His expression turned blank as if clearing the field of previous emotion and prepare for the next one to take the stage.

Quatre felt a fleeting moment of exclusion from the other two, as they clearly appeared to be experienced first hand at one of the devastating aspect of war when he was lucky enough to remain untouched, but then he was sweep away by the things that he himself had witnessed. When war rages, men just lost all the facades of civilization and reveals what had been laying there all along. If you're about to kill another, what was wrong with doing anything else to them before you kill them? They'll end up dead anyway. What was wrong? Everything. All that left behind was a husk of flesh that resembles who you used to be. Something in you is forever altered. Even if you don't do anything but kills them, by killing them you kill apart of your self. You've let the Beast out. Even though afterward you lock it up, the scars on your soul if not body, would bear witness to the destruction that happened. And that what war is, it is destruction. Some may justify that there is a cause behind it; however, that is law nature. There would always be rainbow after the rain. War isn't rain, war is a crushing storm. So what if there is a rainbow in the sky, it doesn't change the fact that home is nothing but a rumble now. As the dogs of war, you can't escape the blood that would inevitably stain your hand. It is simply the matter of survival, heartless simple matter.

"Aw, come on guys! Get a grip of yourself, the war is over. Life moves on we have to move with it." Duo said when the other two grew silent and withdrawn. When there was no changes, he threw Heero out while his inside protested, "Beside, we still need to call Heero remember?"

"Right." Quatre said brighten up a little.

"I'm sorry for ruining the mood." Trowa apologized. Quatre smiled at him, a smile that loaded with emotions just for Trowa, "You don't have to apologize for anything Trowa."

"Cutey here is right, what the good are friends for if you can't have angsty and doom moments with them?" Duo grinned then turned to Quatre, "When we talked about new developments I never thought anything remotely even close to this with Wufei."

Quatre sighed at the new nickname and wonder if Duo would ever run out of them, "Yes, Duo it is rather unexpected. Still like I said before, he's seemed happy now."

"Must be the result from regular sex." Duo said while internally reminded his still protesting self of his resolve about Heero, his inner self quickly hushed.

Quatre regain his glowing look, "Duo! I thought we agreed on not to talk about Wufei's sex life! That I do NOT need to know!"

"Aw, come on. We all know that they're getting it on! We all heard from Zechs that Wufei ripped their underwear. What do you think happened afterward?"

"They could be playing strip poker." Trowa added helpfully. "Yeah!" Quatre smiled gratefully at him.

"Right!" Duo agreed with full sarcasm. "You both know that's highly unlikely!" Quatre just sputtered.

Took pity in him Trowa decided to step in, "Regardless of whether Wufei have regular sex or not it is none of our business. Let call Heero and plan out the reunion, we're wasting time."

"Yeah, lets!" Quatre quickly look his escape rope and dialed Heero's address.

After a while Quatre said, "He's not picking up, maybe he's not home."

"Try the Preventer, knowing Heero, he'll leave a way to contact him there." Trowa suggested.

********************

"Agent Heero Yuy is currently on vacation leave."

"Do you know how we can contact him?"

"He did leave a Japan address in case anything comes up and we require his assistant."

"Thank you."

********************

The screen flashed, displayed Heero's image and Duo felt his heart constricted.

"Hi, Heero." He greeted before Quatre begin speaking.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Gundam Wing or its characters and concepts.

**Warnings:** AU-ish, languages, malexmale, 1x2, 3x4, 13x5x6, OOC although I'll try to keep them in character as best I can when I meant to.

Thank you **Pyrite **for cleaned my writing up for me.

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Chapter 3

Surprisingly, it took very little effort to convincing Heero to come to the reunion. In fact, it didn't take any effort at all. Right after Quatre finished proposing his idea, Heero agreed. He even decided to come to L4 early, something about helping Quatre organize a secure place where they can all meet each other without the harassing reporters. This made a very happy Quatre, an approving Trowa, and a Duo who has a fleeting thought of getting the hell away before Heero's scheduled shuttle can even touch base on L4. After a bit consideration on his part, this will be a chance to see Heero and spending time with him without causing any suspicions on anyone part, he brushed the idea of escaping off his mind.

As the day of Heero's arrival on L4 getting closer and closer, Duo found himself getting a severe case of nauseous anticipation. Duo being Duo, no one can tell anything was wrong with him, other than a vague sense of giddiness that he said caused by an increase in profit from the last report Hilde've just sent him. Instead of spending his day napping and relaxing like before, he found himself can't even sleep at night let alone the day. Quatre noticed the eye bags remaining fixedly there on his face and got so worry that he insisted Duo go see a doctor about it. Again, Duo just said that he worries about the yard. Felt pressured, and inspired one day Quatre saw him stood at the window looked out to the forest of the Winner estate, he told him that may be spending sometime alone, getting in touch with nature would exorcise the gnawingly worrisome businessman in him. He than asked Quatre if he can do so. After cautioning him about forest fire, he smiled and told him to have a good time, and off Duo went into the forest.

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Although it was just a spur of the moment, it turned out to be truth. In spite of the mosquitoes, the rough forest floor, the dense forestry, the cold baths in the lake and even colder breakfasts, the quietness of the forest slowly but surely calmed his jumbled mind like a lullaby.

'This proved to be one of the most beneficial spontaneous decisions that I've ever made.' He mused to himself, took a deep breath of cool air and sunk back into the water; swam in wide motions to warm himself up.. Away from it all, Duo has enough sense of detachment to imprint his resolve regarding Heero deep within himself again.

Surfaced again, he took another quick breath and gone under, not daring to linger.'With the water not as cold as other day, I might as well enjoy it as much as I can.'

Felt something against the skin of his leg he looked down and shocked as he saw a fish. A tiny little one darting quickly to his pale flesh and away, circling it as if it was amazed at something it never seen before. Felt several touches against his skin again, he swam around and face with a school of fish darting toward him. Realized what about to happen he grinned and quickly surfaced. Just as his head was above the water, the school broke the surface and shot into the air then dived back into the water (1). Each little one glittered in the sunlight like sparkling jewels reflecting.

Joy bubbled up and spilled from his mouth as he laughed delightedly while deflecting the spatter from their dive. He saw them doing this from time to time but never dream that they would actually dared to get this close to him. Tilted his head back and grinned to the sun with his eyes closed, thoroughly enjoying the moment. He carefully treaded the water and floated on his back letting the sun caresses his naked skin. Fleetingly, he hoped none of the little fishes get caught in his hair as it floats freely outward from him like it was having a mind of its own.

When a chilled breeze sweep pass him, he gave a shudder, suddenly reminded that his back felt slightly numb from the cold. He swam back to shore while feeling inexplicably happy. As he near the shore, he stood up and felt warmer already from the swim and the sun on his back. The warm and cool contrasting sensation combined with the languid movement of the water made him felt unexpectedly sensual and aroused. Feeling rather sleepy, he gave a sinuous stretch on the pebbled shore. He decided that after his nap he'll pull camp and go back to the Winner's mansion.

Don't want Quatre to be too worried and decide to come and find me. The possibility of him finding me doing something embarrassing is very high. He gave a feline grin. Like me masturbating while calling out Heero's name! The thought made him laughed and a slight stirring in his lower region. Whoa, down boy. He gave another stretch toward the sky. Gosh I love it, it's like Heero is watching me. At this particular thought he groaned out loud. "Damn it, now you'll never go away unless you get what you want." He glared at the body part of him that enjoyed his Heero-related thoughts.

About to surrender, he heard a snap and whipped around. His narrowed glare turned into wide-eyed shock. He found himself staring into eyes the color of the sky while he's in the buff and aroused.

His face aflamed, he stuttered, "Heh, Heero?"

Remembered his resolution, he mentally strangled himself.. "You're here."

With his composure yanked on, he smiled. His reply from Heero was a stare, "Mind if I put some clothes on?" He laughed and faster than you make some sort squeaky noise he already whipped his pants on.

He turned around and Heero were still staring at him with an impassive face. "Heheh, sorry you have to see that. With the water and sun and...Okay, you don't want to hear the explanation. Got that. Anyway you're here. I thought you're not going to be here until another week." Duo said desperately wanting what happened to just somehow well… neverhappens in the first place.

"I'm here because I was able to tie up loose ends earlier than I expected."

"That's cool. Now we can have more time to catch up."

"I got here and heard from Quatre that you're spending sometime out here to relax." With a shrug Heero continued, "I need sometime to… relax also. I'm just scoping places out to see if they're going to fit my objective."

"Yeah, this place is great. I'm just about to pull camp at the end of the day. I needed some solitude."

"Did you get what you want?"

'No...' Duo thought sadly to himself, smiling wistfully and said instead, "I guess, well now that you here. I'll pull camp and go back now instead of staying until the end of the day. That's way we can have more times with each other." He smiled and added, "All of us."

What he truly wants is equivalent to wishing to cup the moon in his hand. 'That's where the problem is isn't it? It's just wistful thinking on my part.' He made short of his camping equipments and was ready to go in minutes as some war habits just stuck. He walked back to the Winner's estate with a heavy, yearning heart even though the object of his affection is just few steps apart yet still galaxy away.

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Even though Duo was happy and smiling in front of him but he felt like something was off. Even though he said that he went camping to relax he still appeared to be full of preoccupied thoughts in his head. Heero observed his companion's tense posture as they walked back, Mentally filing tidbits of information away to analyze later as he unable to do now because his own reaction was equally or perhaps even more puzzling.

When he found Duo floating in the lake with his hair all around him, he felt an odd feeling he'd never encountered before. And the feeling only grew as Duo got out of the water and stretched in the sun. Duo's skin fascinated him. There is something about it that was just so touchable. It made him curious. Curious to touch and see for himself if it's as smooth and as soft as it looked. He briefly thought why he never noticed it before when they were roommate. He was drawn by it and carelessly stepped closer and gave himself away as a dry branch snapped. Duo whirled around he noticed the defined sinewy muscles beneath that touchable skin and was marveled by the contrast of strength and softness. He noticed that Duo was aroused also. Like everything about him, Heero also find his erection interesting stirred his curiosity.

Now that he thought about, everything about him is… It was like everything about him was made to draw interest from onlookers. From the crown of his head to the top of his toes, they all equally eye catching, and they all contradicting. All contradictions: the soft skin with its scars, the wiry muscles that move with fluidity, and the masculinity that accompanied with the soft flowing hair. The more he look on, the more the odd feeling inside of him grew, more and more tangible it grew. Yet, remained frustratingly nameless.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Gundam Wing or its characters and concepts.

**Warnings:** AU-ish, languages, malexmale, 1x2, 3x4, 13x5x6, OOC although I'll try to keep them in character as best I can when I meant to.

Thank you **Pyrite **for cleaned my writing up for me.

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Chapter 4

With their thoughts tangled in their minds, the walk back to the mansion was a fleeting event. Although both men's aims were to wind down but the walk back was anything but relaxing. As soon as they reached the mansion, Duo gave an excuse of putting his things away and took off hiding, leaving a puzzled Heero behind.

They've decided on an informal occasion to meet up and catch up on things rather than a formal reunion as Wufei and his lovers had trouble with picking a date where it coincided with all of their schedules. Treize, after the war, had his fingers in various business ventures and although he's his own boss, it's not easy to drop everything and just take off for a week since the livelihood of several hundred of thousands of his employee planet-side and colonial parts depend on his decision. With Zechs noticed how much trouble his lover has created for himself, decided to help Treize with his businesses. As for Wufei, he became a martial art teacher at a dojo.

"So as much as they wanted to come, most likely only two of them will be able to attend at any given time if we make this a formal reunion." Quatre reported at dinner that night.

The others gave their agreements around the table. With that the matter decided, the young men dug into the hearty meal with zest in good company with each other. As dinner winded down, conversation resumed among them again.

"I still can't believe how much Wufei has changed. He seemed to be much more relaxed and happy now." Quatre commented with obvious joy for their absent friend.

"It's about time. Being too stressed out about everything will ruin your focus on the big picture and it's bad for your health too." Duo said with a big grin, "I've told him so many times to lighten up but did he ever listen? No."

Trowa chuckled, "Right, you've told him to lighten up right after you drove the man to the point of murder. I still remember that one time when you sent him a box of sex toys with a bogus order from the Doctors for him to be familiarized with them by practicing on himself."

Reminded, Quatre almost died, choking on the water he was about to swallow as he laughed. Even Heero grinned widely in remembrance. To his unknown his joyous expression dazzled Duo to the point of staring.

Smiling sweetly at Heero, Duo gave his observation, "You too Heero, the Heero before would never go on leave like this. Just taking off, drop everything and let others take care of things."

"Well..." Heero's happy expression dimmed and he hesitated, "To be honest, it seems I still have a lot to work on to adjust to life after the war..." He proceeded to tell them what happened with Relena that night. "I am currently seeing a therapist right now, but like I've said I still have a lot to work on."

"That's bullshit." Duo said with a hard and clipped tone. "They can't expect us! Us! To just at a flip of a coin be a perfectly ordinary civilian and pretended that all that happened never did!"

"I wouldn't go that far Duo. I don't think anyone expected us to pretend the Wars never happened. I do agree that Relena was too harsh on this however." Trowa said with blank face that betrays no emotions.

To Quatre who always have eyes on Trowa, this is actually a display of emotion rather than Trowa not feeling anything. Trowa is now wearing his soldier's face, a face that will do anything that must be done in order to accomplish the mission. Quatre missed the Trowa that was relaxed and at ease. "Yes, she was a bit hasty and unjust in her assessment of Heero. We were all highly trained and none of us have hurt anyone due to the reflexes from the war so I say that we all adjusted rather well."

"Thank you." Heero was touched by the defenses his friends made on his behalf. "After the war, Dotor J did had me undergone a de-condition training so that I can function in the ordinary life. I thought it was enough but I guess not..."

"I have to admit, I still have a lot of issues I need to work on so perhaps sometime off would not be such a bad idea." Heero confessed with a stiff expression.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to brought it up and ruin the mood." Duo said feeling upset that the happy expression on Heero earlier is now gone.

"Don't be, Duo, sooner or later this would have come up anyway." Heero replied. He was actually relieved that Duo brought it up because it was still a sore point for him. The soldier in him considered it to be a failed mission and Heero Yuy does not fail often. To bring the fact up to others would have been a difficult and unpleasant thing to do. "If you feel really bad you can make it up to be by helping me learn how to 'lighten up' as you've put it."

At this statement, happiness blossomed uncontrollably in his chest that there wasn't a thing in the world that Duo could've done to stop the huge grin on his face, "Sure!"

******************************

The next day they sat down and chatted. "So what do you like to do on your free time?"

"I clean up my living quarters, make sure that my uniforms are spotless, review and do preliminary research for the up coming case." Heero said decisively.

Duo stares. "Heero that's not...Okay let try this again. What do you like to do when you are not doing those activities that you've just mentioned?"

"I work."

"No Heero, when you are not working and cleaning or researching and such what do you do?"

"What do you mean Duo? In order to work efficiently, adhering strictly to a schedule is crucial." Heero is confused by Duo questions.

Duo smiled, "Ah, I understand. You've never thought about what to do to relax. What I meant was activities that you like to do if you have time for no other purpose other than because it amuses you to do so."

"Oh, I see. I've misunderstood your meaning. I've never thought about such things before." Heero answered. Another unknown feeling welled up inside of him; this one however is unpleasant and makes him uncomfortable.

Duo feels like he wanted to cry. To cry for Heero who was a tool of war and never treated as a human. Who never experienced the joys of living, who probably never been coddled, never been given a loving word. His life wasn't all peachy and cream but at least the time at the orphanage and the time on the street with Solo allow him to taste some sweetness of life. Smiling sadly and without a thought, Duo reached out and holds Heero in a warm grip. "Don't bother Heero, you got me, an expert at these things, we'll figure out your vices in no time!"

Unknown feeling again suffuses him but it was tender and warm replaces the unpleasant feeling earlier, Heero blinks.

"I've got an idea! We'll make a list of things that you haven't done before and knock them off as we go then we'll figure it out in no time!" Duo said with pleased with himself for able to help the man he desperately wants.

**************************

"Okay Heero you got this?" Duo asked.

"Yes." Heero replied with a look of utter concentration on his face.

"Okay then try it out."

With a flick of his arm, the line was cast...too far and stuck in the trees along the bank of the lake...again. Heero scowled. Duo couldn't hold it in anymore and laughed hard, "How is it possible that you manage to do that again?"

Heero smiled ruefully while tugging on the line that was stuck. "I have no idea."

Duo laughed again, standing up on their precariously small boat, "Here I'll help you."

Smiling distractedly at the Duo that was practically glowing with happiness Heero started to stand up also and tugged hard on the line and tilled their small boat. With some wobbling on their parts they were both dumped into the water with a splash.

A sputtering Duo surfaces staring at Heero stunned. "Sorry." Heero said sheepishly.

Duo laughed again and with an impish look in his eyes, quick as a darting fish they trying to catch, splashed Heero full on the face. Heero choked as Duo cackled, "Wah..." Before he can even finish he received yet again another splash in the face. Duo quickly made his escape laughter rang in the air as Heero launched after him. The young men quickly reverted to boys as they lost in the thrill of the water chase. After several unsuccessful attempts at catching Duo, Heero thought of another tactic. He was lured his unwitting prey against their boat and when Duo realized he was cornered, he recklessly dived under with no hope of actually escaping.

Heero was there beneath the water waiting for him and with a rush of triumph captured Duo in his arms. Duo of course would never yield graciously and struggled on for principle. As quickly as he started, he stopped as soon as he realized what a bad idea it is as he felt that delicate brush of desire running through him. He stilled and panted, out of breath due to exertion. Heero also stilled and was in awe at the tableau in front of him. Duo's long hair was wet and numerous tendrils escaped framing his delicate face, cheeks and lips redden due to their play. Unable to take his eyes off he pulled Duo closer as if under a spell.


End file.
